1

Who Were Darwin's
Critics?

Accompanies
the Viewer's Guide, Chapter 1-A, "The Voyage of the Beagle"

Overview

Virtually every scientific
revolution has had its critics. The Darwinian revolution was no
exception. Indeed, Darwin's theory of evolution--in its contemporary
form--still has many vocal critics. For a variety of historical
and cultural reasons, the controversy has often been cast as a battle
between science and biblical literalism. But Darwin's theory was
opposed not only by biblical literalists, but also by a wide variety
of religious believers and scientists. In this research project,
students will learn about some of Darwin's religious and scientific
critics, and why they objected to Darwin's theory.

Learning Objectives

Students will be
aware that Darwin's theory drew criticism from diverse segments
of his society.

Students will be
aware of some of the historical works about Darwin's life and
theory.

Students will be
able to identify some of Darwin's scientific and religious critics,
as well as some of the critics' objections to Darwin's theory.

Directions

Have students discuss
the scenes about Darwin and Fitzroy. Ask the following questions:

1. What did you
think of the scenes that showed Darwin and Fitzroy?

2. Was Fitzroy
typical of most people who criticized Darwin?

3. Can you think
of any other people during Darwin's time who criticized his views?

Hand out the worksheet
on the following page and go over its directions with students.

Who Were Darwin's
Critics?

Directions

The following people
were critical of Darwin's theory of evolution:

Louis Agassiz

Karl Ernst
von Baer

John Herschel

Charles
Hodge

Fleeming
Jenkins

Charles
Lyell

John Stuart
Mill

St. George
Jackson Mivart

Richard
Owen

Adam Sedgwick
(geologist)

William
Thomson (Lord Kelvin)

William
Whewell

Samuel
Wilberforce

Choose five
people from the list above and answer the following questions
about each:

1. Who is he?

2. What was his occupation?

3. What is he best
known for?

4. What were his
objections to Darwin's theory?

Keep a log
of how opponents of evolution are portrayed in Episodes Two
through Seven. It doesn't have to be extensive. How does this
compare to the diversity of people opposing Darwin's theory
during his own time?

Sources

You can find information
about these people on the Web and in a number of printed books
and articles. Here are a few places to look.

On the Web

Charles
Darwin. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (as published
in The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin), edited by Francis
Darwin.

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2010

Charles
Darwin. The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, edited by
Francis Darwin.

Other Web sources
can be found with the Google search engine (www.google.com).
To find Web sites that discuss these people's views of Darwin
and his theory, use their names and such keywords as "Darwin"
or "evolution" as your search terms. Remember, though,
Web pages can vary in their reliability and accuracy. Which
pages do you think are most reliable and why?

Printed Sources

Peter J.
Bowler. Evolution: The History of an Idea. 2d ed. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1989.

E. Janet
Browne. Charles Darwin: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1995.

Adrian
Desmond and James Moore. Darwin: The Life of a Tormented
Evolutionist. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1991.

Loren Eisley.
Darwin's Century: Evolution and the Men Who Discovered It.
New York: Doubleday, 1958.